Career and Education Opportunities for Sports Trainers in Burlington, Vermont

There is a wide variety of career and education opportunities for sports trainers in the Burlington, Vermont area. About seventy people are currently employed as sports trainers in Vermont. By 2016, this is expected to grow 21% to ninety people employed. This is not quite as good as the national trend for sports trainers, which sees this job pool growing by about 37.0% over the next eight years. In general, sports trainers evaluate, advise, and treat athletes to assist recovery from injury, avoid injury, or maintain peak physical fitness.

The average wage in the general category of Athletic and Occupational jobs is $46 per hour or $87,600 per year in Vermont, and an average of $44 per hour or $84,458 per year nationwide. Compared with people working in the overall category of Athletic and Occupational, people working as sports trainers in Vermont earn less. They earn less than people working in the overall category of Athletic and Occupational nationally. Jobs in this field include: resident athletic trainer, sports athletic trainer, and athletic trainer.

The Burlington area is home to seventeen schools of higher education, including two within twenty-five miles of Burlington where you can get a degree as a sports trainer. Given that the most common education level for sports trainers is a Bachelor's degree, you can expect to spend about four years studying to be a sports trainer if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Sports Trainer

Sports Trainer video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

Sports trainers advise athletes on the proper use of apparatus. They also massage body parts to relieve soreness and bruises. Equally important, sports trainers have to conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to furnish emergency or continued care, and to establish whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment. They are often called upon to formulate and implement comprehensive athletic injury and illness prevention programs. They are expected to recommend special diets to further optimize athletes' health, increase their stamina, or alter their weight. Finally, sports trainers talk with coaches to decide on protective apparatus.

Every day, sports trainers are expected to be able to evaluate problems as they arise. They need to articulate ideas and problems. It is also important that they piece together evidence to, in some sense, diagnose what is going on in a situation.

It is important for sports trainers to conduct research and furnish instruction on subject matter pertaining to athletic training or sports medicine. They are often called upon to lead stretching exercises for team members before games and practices. Somewhat less frequently, sports trainers are also expected to assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches and physicians.

Sports trainers sometimes are asked to perform team-support duties such as running errands and stocking supplies. And finally, they sometimes have to accompany injured athletes to hospitals.

Like many other jobs, sports trainers must have a strong concern for others and be reliable.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Burlington include:

Licensed Practical Nurse. Care for ill, injured, or disabled persons in hospitals, nursing homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Sports Trainer Training

Norwich University - Northfield, VT

Norwich University, 158 Harmon Drive, Northfield, VT 05663-1035. Norwich University is a small university located in Northfield, Vermont. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 3,322 students and an admission rate of 66%. Norwich University has a bachelor's degree program in Athletic Training/Trainer which graduated eleven students in 2008.

University of Vermont - Burlington, VT

University of Vermont, 85 S Prospect St, Burlington, VT 05405-0160. University of Vermont is a large university located in Burlington, Vermont. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 12,800 students and an admission rate of 65%. University of Vermont has a bachelor's degree program in Athletic Training/Trainer which graduated three students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

AFAA Challenge Exam:
Any AFAA Certification may be challenged, however, it is recommended that you attend the preparatory workshop for that certification offered prior to the exams (Primary, Step, KickBoxing - 1 or 2 days, Personal Fitness Trainer - 3 days).

Certification in Sports Medicine:
The ABP in collaboration with the American Boards of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Emergency Medicine offers a certificate of added qualifications in sports medicine.

Certified Health Fitness Specialist:
The ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist (HFS) is a degreed health and fitness professional qualified to pursue a career in university, corporate, commercial, hospital, and community settings.

Certified Personal Trainer:
The ACSM Certified Personal TrainerSM is a fitness professional involved in developing and implementing an individualized approach to exercise leadership in healthy populations and/or those individuals with medical clearance to exercise.

Sports Nutrition:
The optimum way for you or your clients to get the most out of their workouts and feel their best is to develop an energizing, performance-enhancing nutrition plan, tailored to their body's specific needs.

Functional Training Specialist:
The AFPA Functional Training Specialist Certification program is designed to teach the Functional Training protocols to improve total athleticism, enhances performance, and reduces injuries through exercise progressions that will spur development potential for specific movement patterns commonly use in sport.

Sports Conditioning Specialist:
The IFPA Sports Conditioning Specialist Certification(s) presents principles and practices from twenty-two of the finest and most respected strength and conditioning coaches.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Burlington, Vermont

Burlington, Vermont photo by Avala

Burlington is situated in Chittenden County, Vermont. It has a population of over 38,897. The cost of living index in Burlington, 102, is near the national average. New single-family homes in Burlington cost $152,400 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, five new homes were constructed in Burlington, down from eight the previous year.

The three big industries for women in Burlington are educational services, health care, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is educational services, accommodation and food services, and professional, scientific, and technical services. The average travel time to work is about 17 minutes. More than 42.0% of Burlington residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 15.6%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Burlington is 5.2%, which is less than Vermont's average of 5.9%. About 20.0% of Burlington's residents are below the poverty line, which is worse than the state average.

The percentage of Burlington residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 39.8%, is less than both the national and state average. Saint Mark Church, Champlain Valley Baptist Church and Church of God in Christ are some of the churches located in Burlington. The most common religious groups are the Catholic Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

Burlington is home to the South Breakwater Light and the Vermont State Craft Center Shelburne Farms as well as Ethan Allen Park and Head of Church Street Historic District. Shopping malls in the area include Church Street Marketplace Shopping Center, North Avenue Shopping Center and Burlington Square Shopping Center. Visitors to Burlington can choose from Holiday Inn, Radisson Hotel Burlington and Champlain Inn for temporary stays in the area.